Rosemary And Thyme
by MaySoFarAway
Summary: In the aftermath of various deaths beginning in the spring of 1997, an unexpected relationship developes over shared loss, latenight cocoa and Simon & Garfunkel. Complete, Luna and Remus.
1. Default Chapter

** Author Notes**

Well! I have come out of my long, long, looooong writer's block with this. It is my first Harry Potter fanfic, though I have been in the Fandom for a while (indeed, I RP both Luna and Remus at different games). This was in my brain for a while actually, though it didn't come into it's own until I was working a few evenings ago with Simon & Garfunkel in my headphones. Yay music. I am a canon nazi with my fandoms usually, however I also like some of the odd pairings, when they are done well. Hopefully, I've done this well.

I wouldn't call this all one story, nor would I call it a collection of ficlets. More like a collection of moments. I love Francesca Lia Block's form of imagery, so yes, expect that. All characters/places/things belong to J.K Rowling, save for the music, which belongs to Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. I make no money off of this. If I did, I would not be living off of pez.

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This is where the orphans go. Number 12 Grimmauld Place was no longer a den of dark magic to be cleaned out. Now it was an echoing, quiet thing. One would think it would be livelier, what with all the young people who lived there. But they were young only in years. Ron and Ginny and Hermione and Luna, living with Harry and Remus in the now spotless, spacious house. Socked feet sliding on pristine wooden floors and giggling from the girls' floor were rare, savored moments now, in a place that rang with more recent, painfully sweet memories.

Arthur and Molly Weasley were the first to go. They were murdered in their very own house, three months previous. Alex Lovegood was next, just down the road from them. They were blood traitors, you see. They were all members of The Order, Molly and Arthur fighting the fight, Alexander boldly and some would say foolishly printing the truth now in his paper for all who would read. Harry and Dumbledore tried to get to Ottery St. Catchpole before it happened but were too late. Harry still gave Voldemort a good fight. The dark wizard was put to running.

Though supported by their brothers, Ron and Ginny wanted to stay with Harry, and Harry now owned the house. How Luna also ended up there Remus would never really know. She had no other family; she wouldn't possibly be safe back in her family's house alone. There were simply a lot of unspoken agreements after the funerals were over. Such as Hermione suddenly having leave to stay at the house for prolonged periods of time.

She tried her best to understand this, as she tried to understand everything. They appreciated her. She knew she couldn't relate, though.

And Remus was now their guardian, as they waited through a rainy, weeping London summer. They all seemed so quietly resigned to it all. Accepting that this was how things would go, knowing long ago that it could happen. Now and then there would be a breakdown, someone's sob suddenly echoing through the house. Most often it was in Ginny's distinct, Molly-esque voice. As quietly as footsteps could sound, Luna's footsteps could be heard soon after, hurrying to find her friend.

Ron would stand by one of the windows, as tall and stoic as a tree, watching the rainwater run down in droplets on the glass as his sister sobbed on her best friend's shoulder, or Harry's, as Luna stroked her hair. Hermione would bite her lip.

And the following evening, at supper, Harry would crack a joke. Ginny would laugh, and then Ron, and soon the table would be hysterical, with even Remus covering a chuckle.

One wished to laugh. One needed to.

The quietest and calmest was Miss Lovegood. Perhaps it was because she'd lost a parent already, long ago. Perhaps it was because she never had fully connected to this world, being so very aware of the next. Now and then Remus fancied he could see a glimpse of it in her eyes, when she set her sewing aside in the library, her gaze drifting to stare into space as thoughts collected themselves, along with memories of Alexander, all pale eyes and a kind smile, spinning her six year old self about in her mother's rose garden. Remus never once saw Luna cry. Then again, he rarely saw her laugh either.

That is, until the week before the children left for school.

She often went out into muggle London with Hermione, the pair of them pulling Ginny along with them. They always returned with items that had seen at least ten previous owners, all three girls being able to agree on vintage stores as their favorites. They reminded Ginny of her mum. Crackling record players singing Simon and Garfunkel, dangling love beads and patchwork dresses swirling around ankles. Remus had to admit, Ginny Weasley made a convincing bohemian, both Molly and Lily at once. Harry was falling fast. Falling for the tragic sorrowing smiling redheaded Joni Mitchell.

This day, they came back singing, amidst an evening that was shining golden through the fading raindrops. Hermione and Ginny were singing Mrs. Robinson loudly, stomping up the stairs past the floor newly dubbed 'the boys dorm'. Ron and Harry and Seamus were still sleeping off the hangover Remus had allowed them, and the girls knew this. From his spot reading in the drawing room, Remus smirked slightly as the groans of befuddled protesting reached his ears, along with the less than dulcet tones of "HEAVEN HOLDS A PLACE FOR THOSE WHO PRAY!"

Luna was laughing.

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Midnight found Remus humming the song to himself in the dark, as he wandered into the kitchen for a glass of water. He rarely was asleep at this hour. As quiet as the house was, he still did not feel totally alone with his thoughts until the silent, darkened hours were upon him. And now he was thinking of James, Lily and Sirius, as he hummed. Simon and Garfunkel had been the only thing the lot of them had agreed on as well. His fingers pressed against the glass he held, as he considered. An entire generation, slowly being erased. And another soon to follow, if nothing changed. He was the last...the last...

"Sleeps unaware of the clarion call..."

She was sitting in the drawing room, letting the starlight and the lights of London glow pale in the darkness, falling on her hair like a bolt of whipped silk. The record player was scratching out a tune, Scarborough Fair. Luna was in her favorite white patchwork dress on the window seat, knees drawn up, head against the window. She was crying. But not sobbing. Her face did not move or flinch, as tears rolled steadily down her face.

Remus stood in the doorframe, watching her. He was reminded of many other nights, when she had sat thus, only Ginny's...or once, even Harry's...head on her knee, as they sobbed. And Luna simply sat, saying a few soothing words, yet knowing enough to be silent as well. Luna, who never cried. Or rather, did not trouble others with her tears. She knew tears already.

Luna's head turned, as if she'd heard him, though he'd not made a sound. Remus tilted his head, leaning it against the doorframe, and they regarded one another for a long moment. And suddenly, Remus realized with a start that he had not let anyone see his tears either, not since just after Sirius had died. They were kindreds, souls of a sort that did not want others to be troubled with them. How long had it taken Remus, to let Peter and Sirius and James see him after the full moon? How long had it been, before Luna had told her best friend what it was like to see her mother's body, when the redhead had been troubled and weary and grasping for solace after Molly's death? They were comforters, Remus and Luna. They did not ask for comfort for themselves.

"Do you miss him?" Her soft voice finally broke through the moment. Remus sucked in his breath. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme...

"Yes, always," Remus breathed out, finally stepping into the room, and stopping before the window seat. He ran a hand along the fabric of the seat...some sort of green brocade thing. Molly had picked it out that winter. He looked back at Luna, still illuminated by the glowing panes. The tears were starting to end, and she was getting that look in her large eyes, the one she had whenever Harry or Ginny needed comfort. But Remus couldn't have that, "But time and tears heal all wounds, Luna. Do not deny yourself either."

Luna looked at him for a long time, understanding slowly returning to her gaze, along with fresh pools of salt water. Suddenly she was burying her face in her palms, as if still afraid to let her pain be seen. Remus had never known Luna Lovegood to be afraid. Or so utterly connected to this earth and to emotion, while still looking to be so ethereal. She was finally human, and Remus wondered if that was what she feared as well. But he did not stop to ponder.

For if he had, he might have thought it unwise to do what he did next. He might have rationalized just walking away and leaving her with an encouraging word. He might have berated himself and concluded that he was nothing more than a lonely soul. But Remus Lupin had already spent far too much of his lifetime being cautious. And at the moment, Luna needed in return what she daily gave.

Remus found himself sitting beside her, and wrapping an arm around the sobbing young girl. Luna in turn crumpled into him, pressing her face against his shoulder as she cried. She began speaking, her normally hazy, dreamy voice cracking and muffled by tears and his shirt. She described camping in Sweden, birthdays with only a man and his daughter, seaside trips that seemed to always be rained upon. Remus in turn was brushing a hand through her long hair, oleander and mint tea filling his senses, listening attentively while she cried and spoke until she had nothing left to let go of.

And then there was quiet. Remus, now sitting against the window frame, legs on the seat and hand still in her hair, and Luna with her eyes dry and her head on his chest, watching as a soft rain started beating against the windows anew. Remember me to one who lives there...

Something grew from that. Something only the other could understand. It was odd to most, but to those perceptive enough it made perfect sense. They were kindred.

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Please Review ) 


	2. Dangling Conversations

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It was a still-life watercolor of a day. Autumn was slowly fading, the tree in Grimmauld square testament to the time of year. Its leaves were brown and scattered along the lonely ground, sometimes stirred by a chilly, damp wind under a white sky. It was this picture that greeted Remus one late October morning, as he stood in the drawing room in front of the window seat, wrapped in a thick grey jumper and sipping his morning tea. He did not think he would ever grow accustomed to this quiet, as enjoyable as it was at times. He missed the crowd. He missed Harry. He missed her.  
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_"Do you ever wonder how terribly strange it will be to be as old as Dumbledore?" She had asked, dangling upside-down from that very seat the day before she left, her hair pooling on the floor. He'd looked up from his book with a small smile, as the dangling conversation played,_

_"I highly doubt I will make it that far, Miss Lovegood," He'd replied, to which she shook her head,_

_"The oldest werewolf to have lived saw 128 years, you know," She pointed out. Remus did not know that, setting his book aside thoughtfully. Still upside-down, Luna read the cover, smiling,_

_"And you read your Emily Dickinson?"_

_"And you your Robert Frost?" Remus was quick to pick up. Luna grinned._

_"Indeed."_  
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He missed conversation. Oh there were still Order members dropping by regularly, with the latest news of Voldemort and Death Eaters and the daily killings of muggles. Important things, real things, things he should be concerned with. And Remus was concerned with them. Yet still, he missed the conversations that made the pair involved forget for a time.

Now he was the sole inhabitant of Number 12, alone in the chilly halls, and missing the rare, yet lovely sound of laughter.

As he stood, however, wearing the last Christmas present Molly Weasley had given him, the front door opened, admitting a familiar face, "Can't stay long," Tonks said cheerily, wrapped up in a familiar dragon leather jacket, "Got to get along and do some snooping about in muggle London, however," She handed him a stack of letters, "I thought I'd bring you the post."

Letters weren't sent to Grimmauld Place. Those enlightened knew to send their mail to Nymphadora Tonks, if they wanted it to reach anyone in the house. The post had been much slower since the children left, yet Remus took the stack happily. A cup of tea and light conversation later, the girl was off again, and Remus was left to read.

_Remus,_

_Have you ever stopped and realized how very quite autumn is? I did not realize just how quiet, until I returned to Ravenclaw tower. Many are gone, you know. Two of my dorm mates passed on over the summer. My dorm is quiet, with only Cilla and I. My studies are going well, though Hagrid seems a bit mystified that my yearlong COMC study shall be on the Lavender Frooples and Dots._

_I do hope this letter finds you well. I am writing it whilst watching the Willow with Ginny. She sends her regards. Both Ginny and The Willow. I am sure that if Ronald and Hermione were not busy walking together, they would as well. I do not know where Harry is._

_I miss lemonade in the kitchen._

_And I do miss you, of course. As you see I risk sending a letter. I miss dangling conversations. We shall have to have many of them over winter holiday, to make up for this infernal quiet._

_Regards,_

_Luna_

_"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. Robert Frost"_

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Remus read her letter again, drinking in the variety of emotions slowly this time. He glanced outside, a soft smile on his face, as he pondered the snow newly falling. Only a month and a half more. He would be fine until then.

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**Author Notes:** Short? Yes. More tonight? yes! 


	3. That I Might Reach You

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It was a chilly night in June 1998. Luna never could fall asleep until the wee hours of the morning, when all was grey and blue, and at the moment all was dark, in the room she shared with Ginny. And across the long expanse of smooth hardwood floor, Ginny's bed was empty. The Moon Girl rose from her own bed, spread with soft, well-worn cotton sheets and beaded comforters, bare feet padding toward the door. She wandered down the hall, ghostly in her light blue, Ravenclaw standard long sleeved cotton nightdress. Her footsteps made no sound on the normally creaky stairs, her hem swishing around the rail as she turned to walk down the hall, past the drawing room. Luna glanced within. Ginny and Harry were curled up together on the settee, talking in whispers about things best forgotten. But neither was very good at forgetting. This was why they had each other though.

Luna drifted on, past her best friend and Ginny's graduated boyfriend, following the faint sounds that were wafting up from the kitchen. Descending into the ancient, cool room, the seventeen-year-old Artemis was met with The Sound Of Silence, and her former DADA professor sitting at the nicked and stained kitchen table. She smiled softly, stepping across the cold stone floor soundlessly, sitting down across from Remus, curling up her legs and sitting on her chilled feet.

Remus Lupin was no longer surprised by anything Luna Lovegood did. He was accustomed to her habit of seemingly materializing out of thin air, apparating from her home planet to Number 12, Grimmauld Place, Planet Earth. He lifted his chin from his hands, lacing his fingers together and smiling softly, "Hot chocolate?"

"Yes, please," Luna smiled back, and Remus stood, turning to one of the many cabinets for another mug. Her eyes followed his movements, as he poured her a mug-full from the still steaming kettle on the stove. He passed her the drink, and her small, white hands wrapped around the large mug, absorbing it's warm for a moment. Her face tilted into the steam, breathing in the scent of minty chocolate, "You added the mint extract," She noted. Remus nodded, as he sat back down across from her,

"Using it in those brownies of yours was quite clever," He replied. Luna's rosebud mouth spread in a pleased smile,

"Twas an old habit of my mum's," She explained, "She had quite the impressive rose and herb garden, you know. Attracted Icarus often," A yawn, "Her patch of mint and rosemary was the envy of the neighborhood. She put mint in everything in the summertime…"

"My mother also grew mint," Remus nodded, "When I was a little boy I liked to go out to her garden after it rained, and the whole yard would smell of it…"

Another smile from Luna, and in sync the pair took long, cautious sips from their hot chocolate. Luna turned to look at the record player that was sitting on the table, as it drew to the end of the song. She reset the arm, and The Sound Of Silence began anew, "You have been listening to my records again," She pointed out yet another obvious detail. Yet when she did such, you knew she was searching for the hidden meaning. She was obviously subtle.

"You have excellent taste in music, Luna," He informed her, watching as her slender fingers traced patterns along the splintery table. Really, one of these days he'd have to re-sand the old table and polish it again. Perhaps Harry would help him out, "Icarus?"

"Yes," Luna nodded, taking another more daring sip, "From the Myth. He visited me often when I was little, you know,"

A smile played at the corners of Remus' mouth, "Is that so? Are his wings still melted?"

"Oh no," Luna yawned, the back of one delicate hand coming up to cover her mouth. And the voices like silent raindrops fell, "He remade his wings, now that he's older and wiser," Remus nodded,

"I would think he would be now, after that whole incident," He replied quietly, that small amused smile still on his lips, a few sleepy strands of light brown hair in his eyes, touched with a silver that didn't belong there quite yet, "Such would teach me my lesson,"

"He's a herald now, you know," Luna returned his smile. She knew her words were strange. She also knew Remus would never deny her them, "He took messages up to my mother after she left. And now my father too, I suppose," Luna never said that they or anyone else had died anymore. Only that they'd left. It was a wise move, especially in that house. Her quiet, understated optimism was catching. Echo the sound of silence…

"I'm sure he loves the job," Remus murmured, suddenly reminded of his old friend for a moment. Sirius Black had so enjoyed his muggle Greek Mythology, especially as a teenager.

"You are thinking of him again, Remus," Her voice drifted over to his ears, and he looked at her. She'd never said his first name before, aloud. Then again, she rarely called anyone by any name, so often forgoing formalities.

"You are quite perceptive, Luna," Remus murmured, still looking at her, as the one light above them fell on her long, limp hair and pale eyes. She really was a beautiful girl, lovely like a flower after a downpour. Her smile faded, and her eyes became a bit more luminous, as she leaned forward slightly,

"It can not have been easy, losing a half of one's heart like that," She said slowly, before looking down quickly, "But then, perhaps that is not for me to speak of," Remus tilted his head. That was odd, to hear Luna take back a question. He still smiled though, faintly,

"It's for anyone who understands to speak of, I suppose," He said, taking another drink, "We've all lost a bit of our hearts lately, but," He looked at her, and her face rose again, those light blue eyes of hers meeting his, "I've had some time now to deal with that pain. As you have, I'm sure."

Slowly, she smiled again. The clock struck one, and the vision was still slowly creeping, but Luna was suddenly tired again. She rose soundlessly, picking up her mug and bringing it around the table and to the counter. Turning, she paused, resting a hand on Remus' shoulder for a moment. That one spot would burn with the remembered warmth of her hand for some time. At the moment, he turned his head, and she brushed those graying strands away from his eyes, in a rather motherly motion, "Thank you for the cocoa,"

"Thank you for the conversation," He replied. Though of course, when he thought about it, they hadn't truly spoken much. But they seemed quite able to communicate beyond words. Her hand hovered on his shoulder for a moment, as she pondered…something. With a soft stirring and an intake of breath, she left a feather-light kiss on his brow, before she turned and slipped out of the room.

The next evening, there would be another kettle on the stove, and Luna would remember her slippers.

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**Author Note:** Hee. 


	4. Sparrows

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She turned the record player on in the drawing room, on another chilly night some weeks after the ritual of late night cocoa had begun. Luna sighed, a sigh that was not the usual thoughtful breath. This breath was tired, exiting in a cloud before she lit the fireplace with a wave of her wand. Settling down on the carpet before the flames to the sound of familiar tones, Luna pondered what she'd heard from Hestia Jones only an hour ago, of the little muggle girl…

There had been a time, a few years past, when Luna Lovegood was decidedly detached from most human emotion. Oh she was kind, and she had her odd sense of humor, but she felt no warmth for other's predicaments; they only fascinated her. This had changed, of course, when she had found herself with friends…and later, when said friends had been at her side when her father had died.

She was still adjusting to the confusion, in the best way she knew how…seemingly calm acceptance. Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would…

There was a scratching behind her, claws and paws on the floor, and then a familiar form curling up at her side, resting his head on the carpet with an equally tired whoof of a sigh. Automatically, Luna's hand rested for a moment on his furry coat, before moving to stroke his head. The Werewolf had come to know those very close him while in this form, if they took the time to risk it. He knew Harry, Tonks and Hestia. The month before, he'd known Luna. It had been her first time seeing him in such a light, a not so frightening Beast to her less than beautiful Beauty. She took comfort in it now, somehow. He really was quite quiet like this. Even if she hadn't been recognized, between the Wolfsbane and time The Werewolf was tiring. Luna had wondered, distantly, if the wolf had found her to be the moon. That which brought him pain, coming to see him and hopefully find herself forgiven? An odd thought. Perhaps the Moon had possessed her then. Now, the Moon needed the company.

After a moment, she stretched her legs toward the fire's warmth, turning to lie down on the floor, resting her head against the wolf's furry back, still looking at the flames. The Wolf gave a quiet sort of murmur.

Images would not leave Luna's mind, the images of what had been described to her. She thought of the day her mother died. She thought of the day she'd seen her father under crucio. A tear left her face, and sunk into the wolf's coat.

"I'd rather be a Sparrow," She whispered...

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The following morning, there was rain outside. The sky was shedding tears. And Remus was standing in front of one of the windows, watching it. And Luna was watching him, standing behind him in the hall, wrapped up in one of her father's old sweaters and her oleander earrings. She knew Remus had taken the news with a heavy heart. Everyone had, after the pictures had been all over The Prophet, of the body sent to the Auror Offices the previous evening…the body of the little muggle girl, horribly mangled. Voldemort might have been dead and gone since May, yet his influence and followers were still being hunted down. And they refused to go quietly into oblivion.

"Remus," Luna whispered, breath moving out of her slim, shivering form. Remus whirled around, eyes wide and rather shaken. He stared at her for a long moment, as if wondering if she were tangible. Luna took a step toward him, sighing. That hazy, dreamy sigh, with a touch of concern, "I'm here,"

"I was ready again," He murmured, also taking another step forward, which brought him close enough to rest two slightly trembling hands on her shoulders, "I was ready to believe it was all over and that I could breathe…"

"You are breathing," Luna whispered, reaching up to hold on to his arms. It gives the world it's saddest sound. Remus became quite aware of her hands then, as he did whenever she offered a touch. She stepped a bit closer, "And so am I. These things will be over soon. They can not last."

He looked at her for a while, slowly breathing easier. Rather a forest than a street. His body was still aching from transformation; he should not have let himself be so effected. But he was. The girl had been someone's child. What had been done to her…had Voldemort succeeded in capturing them during the war, that could have been done to Ginny, or Hermione, or…

Motivated by some alarmed instinct, Remus suddenly pulled Luna into his arms, wrapping them around her tightly and pressing his face against her hair. The girl…she'd had a long thick rope of a dirty blonde braid. He shut his eyes tightly. He was breathing, and so was Luna, returning his embrace after a slightly startled moment. Her hand lightly ran over his hair, and he had a strange, detached memory return to him.

_The flames were in front of his eyes, and the human's voice whispered words… _

She had been the one in pain then. And he had comforted her, so that she was strong for him in this moment, a moment she'd anticipated. It was a full circle now, and they each knew a part of the other.

"I would be a Sparrow too…"

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**Author Note:** This bit took me a while to put together. I knew what moments I wanted to include, and what sorts of connections and revelations I wanted, but putting it all together was tricky. I am not sure if I managed it completely, but I am pleased with the result. I'm quite fond on this project, hehe. Thank you SO so so much for the reviews, they made my toes happy! 


	5. Innocence

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_It had been the scent of her hair, that night in August. Finally they were having one of those rare, warm evenings during the last burst of summer, and this had no doubt kept her awake. She did so love the warm weather, savoring every scent, every moment. Remus was kept awake by Luna, as she refused to leave his mind. A tension had come between them as of late, a tension of stolen glances and fumbling with tea cups, long stares and avoiding the subject of her upcoming last year at Hogwarts. It was a tension that should have rightly showed itself months ago, with all the time they spent together, and yet…they were so very comfortable._

_She had passed him in the hall, in the muffled darkness. Remus would later ponder what would have happened, had her long hair not brushed his shoulder. He'd shut his eyes…strawberries. His arm stopped her from going any further. Luna had spent a good few seconds staring at his shoulder, biting her lip. She looked up at his face. Silently sharing the same fear. He reached the point of no return in a simple motion, reaching out to tangle one hand in her long uneven hair…_

_Luna surprised him, neither for the first nor the last time. Leaning forward, she took a deep trembling breath, eyes wide and quite vulnerable, before she stood on her toes and kissed him lightly on the lips. Remus' eyes slid shut, every nerve leaping at the first touch of those soft rosebud lips. _

_He needed her. His hands grasped her waist as she looked up at him again, swallowing, a quivering smile on her face, a time of confidence, "I…."_

"_I know," He murmured, before kissing her again, her soft murmur only stirring him further. She kissed him back and he knew the wolf's instincts were kicking in when he found himself momentarily jealous, wondering when she'd learned such. But that thought was off into oblivion, when her slim, warm arms were around his neck…_

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"You know," Tonks said one evening some days later, as she sat on Bill Weasley's lap, looking pointedly at Remus across the kitchen, "I think all the controversy in your private life is just to make up for the fact that you are an abso-friggen-lutely boring chap."

Remus looked down, chuckling and shaking his head, while Bill outright laughed. The tension of five minutes ago was officially broken. The kind of tension that lingered after Hestia Jones shouted at an individual for one of any number of reasons, taking up the helm of Molly Weasley as worrier and den mother. Tonight that person had been Remus, and the reason had been Luna Lovegood.

"I'm serious," Tonks went on, grinning and reaching up behind her to play with Bill's hair, "First, of course, there's the whole werewolf thing. Then there was Sirius, which weirded plenty of people out but you know, none of them matter," She yawned, "And now it's the seventeen year old Loony,"

"Don't call her that," Remus said pointedly, to which Tonks just grinned, raising an eyebrow. Remus winced, reaching up to rub his forehead, and Bill laughed again. Tonks had been calling Luna Loony since June, but as a fond term. The girl finally liked her nickname.

"Blimey," Bill smiled, "Protective, aren't we?"

"I rest my case!" Tonks leaned forward, resting her elbows on the splintery dining table, her chin on her hands, as Bill tapped his fingers on her shoulders, "Remus, Remus, Remus, mild-mannered Remus, closeted wolf and lover of ex-convicts and former students!"

"I believe I got enough just now from Hestia, thank you I Nymphadora /I ," Remus' mouth twitched just a bit, even as he knew she somewhat had a point. He was boring. But the most fascinating people seemed to be drawn to that.

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_He'd been swimming in that sea of hair, the next morning. Nearly white silk falling in waves across the pillow, drifting in strands across a smooth, equally pale throat. Her palms were open to the morning sunshine, thin, unmarred skin criss-crossed with faint blue veins. To one pristine wrist he pressed his lips, his damsel waking up under a flutter of eyelids. Luna turned her head, a smile slowly drifting over her face as she reached for him, bare white arms stretched out into oblivion, drawing him back into her embrace. _

_Remus rested his head in the smooth corner of her shoulder and neck, whilst her fingers threaded fondly through his hair and she hummed some tune. Bookends. Remus smiled against her, pressing a kiss to her neck and listening to the soft, feathery sigh the action produced. He lifted his head, looking down at her for a moment. He found that which brought back what had supposedly been lost. That which made things clean again. She was Lady of The Moon, Artemis Captured, and High Lunatic Duchess of Snorkacks. She was all that was beautiful left in the world._

"_Thank you," Her dreamy, drifting voice floated up to him, making his heart flip a bit. He was fourteen for a moment. _

"_For?" Remus raised an eyebrow. Luna reached up and traced it with a slender finger, a closed-lipped, subtle smile on her face,_

"_For you," She said simply, lifting her chin just enough for their lips to meet for a moment. Remus shut his eyes softly, affection stirring afresh for the girl in his arms…or rather, the girl who had him in hers. Such a way she had about her, even when he was the experienced one, the world weary one, the teacher. Still, Luna was the one holding all of the cards, utterly disarming with one long, hazy stare and matching sigh. Remus reached up, brushing a long strand of pale hair out of her face. _

"_Likewise," He replied softly, tracing a path along her smooth, pale face with one calloused finger. His gaze drowned in her pale eyes for a moment, "Are you…?" She smiled again as his forehead creased with worry, mirroring his actions and tracing the worry lines,_

"_I am fine," She assured him, taking in a breath and letting her arms fall back upon the pillow, on top of her splayed tresses, "Hardly an unpleasant moment to recall,"_

_It was slowly beginning to dawn on Remus, as dawn itself became utterly evident, in the golden light falling on the pair of them through the windows, tangled in well-worn, comfortable sheets. Sunlight filtered through the drapes like threads of light, strings on an instrument. He'd succumbed to her, the virgin Moon Goddess. There was some sort of irony there. Was she his patron saint? The Lady Luna? He did not know if there was some cosmic connection or not, but he did know that the night before she'd been entirely desirable, as she was before and was still. Only…something had fallen into place finally, and now here she was, contentedly in his bed after a gentle, yet dizzying lovemaking. 'Thank you for you'. For their return to their respective times of innocence, before pain and loss had entered their consciousness. Still, reality was a not-so distant thing. She was so very young. She was younger than Harry. She was…his kindred. His Lady Luna. Time it was and what a time it was it was..._

_Suddenly Remus was quite sure the same thoughts were running through her mind. Her eyes were squinting a bit; her heart-shaped lips a pensive line under her teeth. Remus rested his forehead against hers, very aware of her soft, warm form beneath his own. Odd, that one who so resembled ice would be so perpetually warm…_

"_Luna," He whispered, "If this…" The words had to be forced from his mouth, "If this is not what you want…with all that comes with it, I mean…"_

"_Oh but it is," Luna stopped him, in the voice that escaped her only when she let Remus see her human side, "It is a thousand times," She assured him, "I only regret that others might not think it proper. But I do not heed such drivel," Her smile returned. _

_Remus shut his eyes tightly, feeling the old wolf within him stirring, even as his logical side was grasping for a foothold, "It's not only that," He reminded her in a harsh whisper, "I'm a werewolf forever, you know. It will not change. I'm older than you, I've seen things I'd never want you to…"_

"_Remus," She said his first name softly, in a voice so much older than her lithe, unmarred body, "I know all of this," She reminded him of countless late-night conversations over cocoa and biscuits, "And besides," A rare, wry smirk crossed her features, "Wizards live a long time." Can you imagine us years from this moment?_

_Slowly, he allowed himself to grin, "You're right of course, Miss. Lovegood," He murmured, playing with a bit of her hair, as the wolf was slowly allowed his victory, and desire was once again swelling within Remus. He leaned down, a breath from her lips, "You're an extraordinary person, Luna…"_

"_I know," She murmured in reply, in her dreamy voice, before Remus has his mouth on hers, pressing her back against the pillows, tangling his hands in all of that hair. He needed her again, and now without the fear he'd had last night. Luna needed to be needed, or her life was not complete, he knew this now more clearly than he had before. Even now, as his want became evident, she let out a pleased sigh against him, wrapping her arms around him anew, encouraging him on as his lips left her own and traveled down her throat. His hands wandered down her stomach and lower, earning him a sigh and his name whispered in that alien-girl's voice…_

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"What are you going to do when she goes back to school next week?" Tonks asked, and Remus shook his head, staring into his tea.

"I suppose Harry and I will be having plenty of chess games," He smirked. Funny, that one of his best friends was an eighteen-year-old kid who was in almost exactly the same sort of situation Remus was in. Living in that drafty house, with hardly any work, friends all pairing off and family mostly gone or killed…

"Yeah," Tonks nodded, a bit more serious now, "Honestly…how do you think you'll manage? No more midnight conversations over hot chocolate?" Remus' eyebrow rose, "I'm an insomniac too, you know."

Remus sighed, "I…really don't know what I'll do without her," He admitted, fiddling with the tea bag string, "Count off the days until Winter Holiday, I suppose…"

"You're really smitten, aren't you mate?" Bill noted softly. Remus nodded, slowly.

"I…I'm quite sure that I am in love with her, actually," His quiet confession echoed through the ancient kitchen for a moment, before Tonks smiled again.

"Well then, good for you," She said earnestly, Bill nodding firmly behind her. Remus looked up, a small smile working it's way onto his face. He was keeper of the captured Artemis, and his comrades approved.

"Thank you…"

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**Author Notes:** Mweeheehee. I love my reviews so very much. I'm a Tonks/Remus shipper too. Actually, I'm a Remus shipper in general. Anyone who makes my boy happy is a good person, hehehe. 

There shall be one or two more pieces to this. And I am now pondering other story ideas as well...ack, I'm on a spree again!


	6. September I'll Remember

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October was not a simple month. It had not been a simple month for some time, for Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood. It was the month during which one was finally settled back into one's house, and one realized how empty the older dorms were now, echoing, quiet things. The first years were pouring in, and they would never know those who gave their lives much too soon, much too young. Most of the girls' friends were dead or graduated, their seventh year dorms echoing with loneliness…yes, even for those that had once called The Moon Girl Loony Lovegood.

Their days were now filled with studying for N.E.W.Ts and letters. Always letters, almost daily events that made the morning post the highlight of the day, a rain of fresh parchment fluttering down in the crispy cool of the Great Hall. Ginny's face would light up, and her fellow Prefect Colin Creevy would sigh hopelessly into his bacon. His Dulcinea was engaged to The Boy Who Lived. Luna wondered if heroism made one finally noticeable. Hareton Chambers had been giving her rather long stares over their shared cauldron in Potions. It never rained but it poured. April come she will, when streams are ripe and swelled with rain.

"Who would have expected this from us?" Ginny pondered one day, at a seat by the library windows, pointedly ignoring the Charms text open before her, ancient pages gathering dust, "Such forlorn pining?" She spoke like Luna when the two of them were together, and Luna picked up Ginny's habit of tapping her nails on tables.

"I know not," Luna murmured, "When I became those which I strived to avoid becoming…" Ginny grinned, knowing to what her friend alluded,

"Really Miss Lovegood," She replied, dramatically, "I do believe you're a far cry from how our crowd carried on in third year, hoping for a date to the Yule Ball and crying in the loo with Myrtle when none came." Luna laughed her odd loud laugh she'd had so long.

"Emotions hold you captive…" She murmured. Ginny smiled.

"Sometimes we need someone holding the kite string, lest me fly away…."

"How very poetical, Miss Weasley!"

"I learned from the best, Luna."

Luna looked out on the rainy, cold October day. September I'll remember…but she would not finish that line.

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"The opening weekend was a success all around," Hermione was saying primly, on the day's twin in London. Remus listened quietly, a small smile fixed on his face, as she and Ron discussed…and at times bickered over…the details of Hermione's new bookshop in Diagon Alley, "Remus I told you the public would have absolutely no issues with your working there. The Wizarding world sees you as one of their war heroes; you'd nothing to worry about!"

"Yes you did," Remus nodded, turning a page in his book, though he had not been paying much attention to Bronte that afternoon, "Though war hero might be a bit much…"

"Now Remus…"

"Here she goes again!" Ron sighed dramatically, "Come on Mione, you need to get out of the house!" He took her by the arm, sweeping her off into the front hall. The two still lived there, and would until they got married and moved into their own place. Remus would be getting his own flat soon, and Ginny and Harry would have the house. A welcomed freedom to all concerned, and yet oh how Remus would selfishly miss the old morose days, when there were always children rushing in and out of the front door, laughing over dinner and crying over knitting needles.

And Luna, Moon Girl, Lady of the Lake, where would she come home to? Ginny insisted on the house. Luna had simply smiled.

Hermione called a giggly farewell from the front veranda, where once there had been a lithe faery of sixteen all dressed in white linen sipping lemonade, a redheaded nymph knitting at her elbow. Remus reached into his pocket for the letter he'd gotten that morning, from an owl that had swept fearlessly into the house. He'd already read it twice that day, but her handwriting was such a fascination and comfort. And yet there was that passing mention halfway through…

_"Hareton Chambers asked me to go with him to the first Hogsmeade trip of the year. I declined, but really, I felt a bit uncomfortable. I have never been in such a position before."_

His prize had finally been realized. His bohemian Moon Child. Remus let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his eyes. The time they'd been born into together had ended. The real world had returned in all of its clarity, and he'd be foolish if he expected her to be attached all through her last year of school. Remus would write back to her. He would tell her she should go, and enjoy herself and the company.

And he would be the one who waited. They were in her small hands now. August, die she must, the autumn winds blow chilly and cold…

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**Authors Notes:** I live! This is short. There is one last chapter to this story, I believe, and then I shall write others, promise promise. 


	7. Organdy

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What a dream he'd had, pressed in organdy.

Remus locked the bookshop door behind him, pocketing the key and turning to take in the snowy evening in Diagon Alley. Hermione had wanted the shop closed early that Friday, so she'd have time to get ready for the Holiday Shopping crowd. He smiled to himself, remembering her week of frantic planning. He and Ron had simply sat back and watched, as she scolded them both so often for getting in her way. Thus Remus had sat behind the front counter. The Wizarding world might still have had their issues with werewolves, but they were quite fond of war heroes. And Hermione would have hired him to help her start up her long time dream no matter.

Now it was December, after a long autumn of similar lonely walks, first from Number 12 and then from his new flat just outside of Diagon Alley. His nerves were jumpy that night, the last night before their last scholars returned for the winter holiday. Their letters had been sparse and quiet things since October, though Luna's tone had not changed. Remus still did not allow himself the luxury of hope, however.

Still, when he passed by a shop display, her air was around him, stopping his feet. Tripping down the alleyways. He bought Luna her Christmas gift, which the shopkeeper wrapped in silver paper with a subtle blue scattering of flowers. The box smelled of the dusky Sage and Black Rose incense of the shop counter. Later he would find a sprig of mint to tuck into the ribbon.

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Snow was swirling outside of the train windows, as the Hogwarts Express took the Moon Girl and The Nymph home for Christmas. Luna rested her head against the cold window, tucking her legs up under her and linking her fingers together over wool skirt knees. Outside in the car, Denis Creevy frolicked by singing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, and Luna and Ginny looked at each other with ghosts of smiles. Harry's favorite holiday song, when altered slightly.

Another form shuffled by, peeking into their car and leaving Christmas candy behind for both of them. Hareton Chambers it was, he of the moppy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He and Luna had become friends indeed, but he was a sharp Raven. He'd known her heart was spoken for their first potions lesson. He still loved her. He gave to her her favorite flavor cockroach clusters. Luna smiled.

Ginny napped most of the ride back, and Luna was left to her pondering and her popping of clusters into her mouth, willing the train forward as frosted fields rushed by the windows, swirls of snow, juniper and lamplight.

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Their eyes darted back and forth all evening, after the late dinner and during the party in the library. She was wearing the short white jumper, over ice blue blouse and snowflake tights, singing snowman earrings. They waited on tiptoe on opposite sides of the room, while those who were oblivious mingled. Remus had gotten very good at reading her pale eyes, however. He would later call himself a fool, for doubting what he saw there. But it was persistent, over the hum of conversation, Ginny's laughter and Tonks' nearly knocking over the Christmas tree. She was still his.

There was little conversation then. They slipped out into the snowy night not long after midnight, apparrating to his flat. She hopped up the building's stairs two by two, humming a tune, spinning into Remus' flat with a giggle, "This building has such lovely character!" Her dreamy voice floated through the rough walls. The door shut behind him, and he simply stared at her for a time, standing in the middle of the room, pulling off her fuzzy white scarf and mittens. Her cheeks were flushed from the moments in the freezing night, and her hair was slightly static-y from her wool scarf. A familiar slim, white hand clothed in crinoline brushed along the titles on his bookshelves, before she turned back to him, smiling. What a dream he'd had…

He had her in his arms in a moment, pressing kisses to her hair before he found her lips. Those soft, pale, rosebud lips he'd missed for a thousand years and four months. Four months. She gasped at the same time he clutched her tighter, as they had the same realization. For four months, they had missed each other. They had been incomplete, for four months. Luna wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face against his shoulder for a moment, breathing him in. When had she become another? When had her white birch limbs grown entwined with those of the sycamore beside her? When they had seen the same forest.

"I love you," He whispered into her static-y, ash hair, taking in its scent in a deep, cleansing breath. He felt as if he'd never breathed before, "Oh I love you, Luna-love,"

"And I love you," She reached up, a hand through graying brown, the back of her nails a gentle touch. She kissed his brow, "Much missing and love…"

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It was amazing how well one could memorize a face, the flash of a wolf's eyes, and the taste of a Moon Girl's skin. What made a voice breathless and what made eyes slide shut in bliss. What the soft skin in the arch of her throat felt like, when her head was thrown back. The howling outside of the windows was only a comforting welcome back to earth, not a lonely, mournful thing that sounded outside of castle or flat windows. All was warm and quiet inside after a time, Luna resting her chin on Remus' chest, burrowed under a pile of quilts after they'd found each other again. She ran her fingers along one deep, old scar that cut from clavicle to navel, her touch soft and leaving a path on his skin that cooled in the night air.

"I've missed you," Remus whispered, his voice thick and his hands finding their favorite place in her long tresses. Kissing honey hair… "I was quite sure you would forget about an old man like me, you know…"

"You are not old," Luna rolled her eyes, though she grinned, "Oh ye of little faith, Remus Lupin. I am only me with you now," She rested her head against him, blinking a few times; "I should dislike being so owned. But I think that I own you as well,"

"That you do, entirely," Remus smirked, "My dear we are waxing poetical, I'm afraid,"

"Oh gasp!" Luna grinned, pulling a quilt closer about the two of them, "What would Old Emily say?"

"I have the impression that she'd have been jealous, what with never leaving the house," He let out a contented sigh. For another long moment, they were thus, together in their old companionable silence.

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"Merry Christmas,"

"Well now, that is slightly redundant my dear," Luna replied, sitting cross-legged on the floor of Remus' flat some days later on Christmas morning, spice cookies and hot chocolate creating a pleasantly scented fog over the rather sparse sitting room. She took the gift he offered, pushing her rope of hair back over her shoulder. Across from her, Remus smirked,

"Yes, but I am sentimental that way," He reminded her, regarding her dragon-foot slippers for a moment as she opened his gift. Opening the box the scent of mint reached her, making her smile. She took out two books, early editions of Wuthering Heights and Grimm's Fairytales, The Graduate on vinyl. And then…

"Icarus," Her voice was a shaky breath, as she pulled a large snow globe from the box. Oh such a normal gift, a snow globe, save for what was inside. A stone tower, and a youth with feathery wings charmed to fly around in a perpetual storm above a labyrinth. Luna looked up, eyes damp, "You found my messenger,"

"He was waiting for you, I only picked him up," Remus said quietly, reaching out to run his fingers along her jaw, "I imagine you might have more letters to send your mother and father,"

"I do," She said quietly, books wrapped in hippogriff-pajama arms, snow globe before her, Icarus spinning, "I have to tell them that I am in love. They will be quite fascinated, I am sure."

"That they will be," Remus Lupin replied, his voice a hoarse and rough thing, as he took in The Lady Luna Lovegood. What a dream he'd had, long ago, in a house filled with orphans. Of something beautiful returning, growing out of all that loss and sadness, with grateful tears. And so it had.

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**Authors Notes:** I live! And there is just one more bit! 


	8. Sail On Silver Girl

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She was wearing silver that spring morning.

They'd been parted since dawn, when she left his flat to be at The Burrow, to see that the bride got into her dress. Remus had met Harry at Number 12, tying the tie under his robes for him in the hall then lit with hazy morning sunshine. Ronald was whistling Mrs. Robinson as he skipped down the stairs, his own tie askew and his left hand already banded in gold. He'd paused on the last step, looking at Remus and Harry and tilting his head,

"Where did I hear that tune?"

Remus chuckled, "First time? Right on those stairs,"

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In the Weasley's garden, the orphan who'd inherited Grimmauld Place and a fate nobody thought he would live through married his best mate's little sister. Remus had to admit, Ginny made a pretty little bride, her mother's younger self returned to this earth. But it was her attendant, standing between her and Hermione, who held his gaze through the ceremony. Lithe and willowy and flowing in a color that was somewhere between Sage and Silver, Luna had grown into her height, ever luminous in the sunshine.

They sat among Molly Weasley's roses that night, paper lanterns swinging with faeries and fireflies above their heads. Luna set herself across Remus' knees, head on his shoulder, the breeze blowing her hair and chiffon bits to tickle his cheek, as they watched the new Mr. and Mrs. Harry James Potter dance on the grass, along with a score of other guests.

"It is good to see a wedding," Luna noted dreamily, eyes sliding shut. An obvious bit of information, yet still, said with the conviction of someone who'd seen far too much pain on the faces of her friends. Remus nodded. They all had, those gathered there for the party.

"You looked lovely today," He replied softly, pressing a kiss to her hair. Luna smiled, eyes still closed,

"And you ever so dashing," She murmured back dramatically, taking in a deep breath and enjoying the mingled scent of roses, spring and her dearest, "Really, together we are a lethal pair of lovelies," Remus positively snorted,

"I felt old," He said wryly, as Ginny's laugh floated over the party. He smiled again, turning his head a bit toward his young lady love, "You know I seem to recall an evening far too like this one to make this anything less than destined," The werewolf noted hazily, linking fingers with her, "There was a darling redhead, a moppy boy in spectacles that no one thought would live to see twenty, and I was in the corner in much this same position…"

Luna opened her eyes, grinning, "And would Sirius have looked as divine in this dress?" Remus grinned back,

"Red was more his color, silver would have washed him out," He said softly, kissing her cheek. And then he sighed…sailing on with his silver girl. Lifting their linked hands, Remus ran his thumb along the back of her perfectly smooth white hand, with one so crossed with matching white scars, "Your hand deserves the finest ring, Moon-girl," He murmured, "Silver, moonstone and diamonds. You should find yourself a man who could meet this need."

"I have enough rings," Luna whispered back, reaching with her free hand to brush at his hair fondly, "Plastic rubies and garnets and diamonds from candy machines," She grinned, "And a Professor who brings me bouquets of mint and quills and smells like new parchment,"

It was Remus' turn to shut his eyes, letting out a sigh, a rather blissful look upon his face. It was a look most had gotten used to seeing, but it was still heartening to anyone. Remus Lupin was a happy man, "How do you feel about Midsummer's Eve?"

"I think I would be highly in favor of it," Luna replied, serious and dreamy and drunk on the evening. Slowly, she grinned, as she realized what her initials would soon be, "I must get Ginny to start calling me Lu-Lu!" Remus laughed aloud, the sound echoing over the garden…

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They walked over the fields that night, under the waning moon, to see the house that was now in possession of the Moon Girl, now that she had left school behind her. The mint was still growing, the porch swing her father had made still swinging softly in the night time breeze, by whispering trees and the distant thrum of the Otter River. They sat there until a blue morning before dawn, talking about when they would live there together. Distant visions arriving, of late nights before a hearth reading, cocoa at midnight, a bed piled with quilts in the winter, owls sent to and from work places, and a little girl resembling an elf waiting in the dewy mornings for Icarus to fly over the mint patch, with birthday wishes from her grandparents somewhere above.

Luna fell asleep on his shoulder dreaming, but Remus willed himself awake for as long as he could, wondering at fate. Wondering at the guiding spirit that had urged him to comfort a grieving moon child. He looked up at that constant, returning moon, which seemed to be making up for so many wrongs it had done against him.

Remember me to one who lives there, thus, in the house with the mint growing in the garden, and the girl with intangible wings waiting.

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**Author's Notes:** Oh le sigh! It feels so good to finish a story, and yet I know I will miss it too. Worry not though, I highly doubt I am done with the pairing of Luna and Remus, and I am most certainly not done with Harry Potter fanfic. Thank you SO much to everyone who wrote reviews! They really inspired me to keep going. And...well, I guess this did sort of become one flowing story, hehe. 


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